Government Finds Buyer for Pacific Savings Building

Federal regulators have reached an agreement to sell the stylish former headquarters building of defunct Pacific Savings Bank to a Los Angeles investor for more than $10 million. Sources close to the deal said bidding for the Spanish-colonial office building was won by Nick Shammas, who owns eight automobile dealerships and dozens of office and real estate properties in downtown Los Angeles and in Orange County.

The Resolution Trust Corp., which occupies most of the building now for its West Coast operations, would not reveal the buyer’s name or the sales price, but acknowledged that escrow opened last week.

“We were actively negotiating on a backup offer and have a purchaser in the wings should this deal fall through,” said Micah Leslie, head of sales for the federal agency’s West Coast office.

Leslie said details will be disclosed after the deal closes, probably within 60 days.

Shammas could not be reached for comment.

The three-story building, with its distinctive bell tower, was built in 1982 as the cornerstone for redevelopment of downtown Costa Mesa. The structure at Newport Boulevard and 19th Street garnered a number of architectural awards as well.

Before it closed, Pacific Savings also built the nearby Courtyards shopping center complex in a Spanish motif to complement its headquarters building and revitalize the city’s oldest retail shopping district.